Ibiza Cricket Club was crowned Balearic Champions for the first time in 17 years in dramatic fashion at the annual tournament held in the glorious setting of Menorca Cricket Club, on the outskirts of Mahon. Ibiza played Mallorca on Friday in what is traditionally a grudge match so when Ibiza won the toss Captain Martin (Shaggy) Makepeace elected to put their bitter rivals into bat. Ibiza came out all guns blazing with opening bowlers Jim Harvey and George Burdon hitting line and length with consistency however they were frustrated by some solid batting from Mallorca who were beginning to fall behind a respectable run rate. With the pressure gathering Ibiza’s David Climent came on as first change to claim 2 well earned wickets with his medium paced swing bowling but still the opposition ground out more runs until Ibiza’s Stuart Browne claimed the vital wickets of danger men James Bodsworth and Jon Barratt with fine catches from Harvey and Short respectively. Bob (the Vicar) Short also had a good spell with the ball with his slow spin, giving it lots of air. With the tension mounting Ryan Way mopped up the tail, clean bowling both Jaspen and George and Mallorca finally settling for a score of 189 for 8 off their 40 overs, Scott Appleby top scoring with 40. The below average score was mainly due to some fine bowling and superb fielding where every run was chased down with amazing energy under the hot Menorquin sun.

Ibiza made a solid reply with opening partnership Adam Johnston and David Climent putting on 63 for the first wicket, Johnston falling for 29 to a Barrett catch off the bowling of Heaton. Bob Short came in at number 3 and with some technically excellent batting and a clever partnership with Climent that added a further 65 runs before Climent fell shortly after getting to a gutsy 50. Ian Gourlay’s wicket went down soon after however Ibiza avoided the jitters after ‘Kiwi’ George Burdon joined Bob Short, hitting a glorious straight 6 off his first ball, to see Ibiza home by 7 wickets with a full 8 overs to spare, Short finishing the innings with an impressive 51 not out and Burdon with a swashbuckling 36 not out. After many years as Mallorca’s whipping boys Ibiza had turned the tournament on its head and handed out a thrashing to the favourites and winners for the last 3 years.

With Ibiza now in the ascendancy Menorca came the next day with a steely resolve sensing that a win could put them in the driving seat to reclaim a title they last won in 2003. The hosts won the toss and asked Ibiza to bat and after the euphoria of the day before things started to go wrong for the Ibicencans almost immediately. Main man Climent being bowled with the score on 14 and then being followed quickly by Friday’s hero Bob Short, who disastrously mistimed a run when there was no need to apply any pressure, Short run out for just a single and Ibiza were 16 for 2 and in trouble. George Burdon joined his friend Adam Johnston at the crease and the two big men forgot the troubles and put on 59 classy runs before Burdon was out to a controversial ball that pitched on the side of the artificial mat and arrowed in to take the bails off. Ibiza’s Captain Martin Makepeace calling on the umpires to clarify the ruling as he believed that it should have been a ‘dead ball’. Both umpires were happy to let the decision stand so Burdon was on his way for 26. This only stoked up the highly charged atmosphere and when Ryan Way and Andy Brader both got out cheaply to poor shots Ibiza were 85 for 5, knowing that a minimum par score was 200. Ibiza’s remaining hope was Vice Captain and Coach Adam Johnston grinding out the runs however he departed with the score on 112 for a well earned 64 after a fine catch from Regan Anderson off the bowling of Menorca’s Captain Chris Phillips. In previous years there may have been an Ibiza middle order collapse but this never materialised and when Martin Cooper and Jim Harvey joined each other in the middle they played some lovely shots to put valuable runs on the board. Cooper with heavy strapping on his right hand played a magnificent lower order knock before being bowled by Ted Williams with a couple of overs to go but his 33 runs were to prove invaluable. The tail certainly wagged with Harvey hitting a huge 6 over mid-wicket and Captain Makepeace crashing 3 fours from one Nuttall over. From what could have been a disastrous innings Ibiza had somehow managed to put a fighting total of 174 runs on the board to give their bowlers something to have a go at.

IMenorca knew that it was a very gettable score so Ibiza came out knowing that they had to take early wickets – which they did, Jim Harvey bowling a peach to Phillips in the first over that nicked off the glove and found its way safely to the wicketkeeper. Ibiza could sense an upset as long as the intensity was maintained and with Menorca scoring only 16 off the first 10 overs the batsmen started taking a few risks and with Ryan Way and David Climent on top bowling form the pressure mounted and Menorca were quickly reduced to 22 for 4, the danger pairing of Ted Williams and his son Ian being dismissed cheaply with Ibiza keeping up the high tempo fielding like terriers and asking constant questions of the hosts. Menorca’s Tysoe produced a sensible knock of 25 before being bowled by a beauty from Ibiza’s Jim Harvey and seemingly all at sea when Paul (Pabs) Ambrose took a difficult catch at mid-wicket. At 99 for 8 all signs pointed to an Ibiza win however nobody really considered Menorca’s tail and when Dan Osterbery and Mike Morris put on 71 for the 9th wicket it was anybody’s game, Osterbery crashing boundary after boundary to try and steal a famous victory. With 2 overs left the hosts required 31 runs for a win that never seemed likely and with Burdon injured Andy Brader bowled an over that the hosts took a liking to with 19 runs coming from it. Former Menorca player Ryan Way bowled the last over for Ibiza with the hosts requiring 12 to win and he produced the goods with 3 dot balls and with 6 needed from the last ball Menorca came up just short after a valiant effort. Ibiza winning by 4 runs and celebrating on the pitch in front of the packed crowd when they realised that the trophy was going back on the plane with them. Ibiza’s Captain Martin Makepeace thanked both the other two teams who were gracious in defeat but all agreed that the best team had won the trophy.